By Marie Rosenthal, MS
Scientists found no viral rebound in an HIV patient who has been off antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 18 months after he received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) for a hematologic malignancy.
The patient received HSCT from a donor carrying a genetic mutation that prevents expression of the HIV receptor CCR5. The transplanted donor cells had a gene defect (CCR5delta32 mutant) that results in the absence of the critical entry gatekeeper